Cablegate: Devils Lake, Environment Committee Weighs In

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001819

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES (TURNER), WHA/CAN (BREESE, NELSON)

WHITE HOUSE FOR CEQ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV PBTS CA
SUBJECT: DEVILS LAKE, ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE WEIGHS IN

1. Summary: In a press conference on June 14 the House of
Commons Environment Committee called on the federal
government to act decisively and exhaust "all diplomatic
and/or legal options" to stop the Devils Lake outlet from
commencing operation until it has been reviewed by the IJC.
The Committee's unanimous support for the resolution was
overshadowed by the incendiary rhetoric of a Manitoba M.P.
(not from the Committee) who called on Canada to impose
trade sanction to achieve that objective. The statements of
Environment Committee members and the Committee Resolution
were, in contrast, forceful but measured. End summary.

2. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment
and Sustainable Development held a press conference the
afternoon of Tuesday, June 14 to announce they had adopted a
resolution calling for the United States to join Canada in a
joint reference to the International Joint Commission (IJC)
on Devils Lake. They also announced they will soon be
sending a letter to Secretary Rice reiterating that demand
and also forcefully requesting that the President become
engaged on this issue and make a decision.

3. Support for the resolution was unanimous, a rarity in
Parliament these days, although there were differences
evident in the four parties' positions as they made their
statements.

4. Perhaps most significant, however, was what occurred just
as the Committee members concluded the press conference.
Manitoba NDP Member of Parliament, Pat Martin (who is not a
member of the Committee) took the podium and provided the
press with some incendiary rhetoric. Martin, with
much passion, told the assembled reporters that: "Diplomacy
has not worked" and "Canada's bargaining stance has been on
its knees" and "the time for a diplomatic solution is
over". The NDP Member of Parliament elaborated,
saying "It's time to take the gloves off and get tough with
the United States", "lets start talking about trade
sanctions" and, alluding to the energy relationship between
Canada and the United States, he added "Let the bastards
freeze in the dark".

5. The statements of Environment Committee members and the
Committee Resolution were, in contrast, forceful but
measured. Of course Martin's "freezing" line made the
headlines in today's papers, overshadowing the all-party
consensus that fellow NDP M.P. Nathan Cullen, who authored
the resolution, had so carefully crafted. Indeed, we
understand that Cullen, was so incensed at Martin's
intemperate remarks that he and Martin who typically sit
alongside one another in the House of Commons had to be
relocated away from one another during last nights series of
budget votes. Supposedly Martin received the cold shoulder
from the rest of the NDP caucus as well.

6. The resolution is brief, the key statement is that
".whereas the said water diversion may have serious and
harmful ecological and economic repercussions in Canada; Be
it resolved that the Standing Committee on the Environment &
Sustainable Development urgently calls upon the Government
of Canada to immediately exhaust any and all diplomatic
and/or legal options available to prevent any water
diversion from Devils Lake, North Dakota until the project
has been reviewed by the International Joint Commission."

7. The Committee's resolution is available at:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee/CommitteePubl ication.aspx?S
ourceId=120911

8. During the Q&A session the Liberal members of the
Committee, Chairman Alan Tonks and Bryon Wilfert,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment (who
represents the Minister and the government on this
committee), emphasized that the current situation is
untenable and expressed concern what precedent the Devils
Lake issue will set if a reference to the IJC is not made.
Tonks and Wilfert also stressed that negotiations are on-
going between the two governments, but they noted it is
critical to get the President fully engaged on this matter.
Tonks and Wilfert alluded several times to also being open
to alternatives to an IJC reference, as long as that
process would achieve the same ends as an IJC reference,
i.e. science-based consideration of the facts and an
impartial recommendation. (Comment: Wilfert would
definitely have been briefed on the CEQ meeting of June 13).

9. When the assembled press asked a question about linking
the Devils Lake issue with trade to gain leverage, David
McGuinty, a Liberal MP and brother of Ontario Premier Dalton
McGuinty noted that perhaps it is necessary to reexamine the
Canadian relationship with the United States,
and Canadian sovereignty more generally, in the context of
continental environmental stewardship. McGuinty, a former
Chair of Canada's National Economic and Environmental think-
tank the National Roundtable on the Environment and the
Economy (NRTEE), added that former Canadian Ambassador to
the USA, Raymond Chrtien claimed he spent about 40% of his
time on bilateral environmental issues, underscoring that
perhaps these issues need a higher profile generally in the
relationship.
10. In response to being pressed on alternatives to an IJC
reference, Tonks mentioned that there are avenues such as a
reference to the International Court of Justice, but he
stressed that this was not being contemplated and that
linkage to other issues (whether environmental or trade
related) was premature. He also mentioned the possibility
of a unilateral reference to the IJC, but exclaimed that
this is not a favored option.

11. The Conservative Party's Critic for the Environment, Bob
Mills, expressed support for an IJC reference as the most
expeditious means to achieve a solution that all parties
could live with. But he took the Liberal government to task
for refusing the 2002 USG suggestion of an IJC reference at
that time and Mills referenced the June 10 letter from the
ND Congressional delegation to President Bush; Liberal M.P.
Wilfert suggested, however, that there were several factual
inaccuracies in that letter. Mills added that the
Boundary Waters Treaty is over 90 years old and suggested
that it needs to be modernized (a sentiment similar to that
expressed by Liberal David McGuinty).

12. Nathan Cullen, NDP Environment critic and author of the
Committee resolution, said that the GoC must ramp up the
pressure on the United States on all available fronts, and
the full range of diplomatic tools must be used - he chose
not to elaborate. He claimed that if the Administration
allows the DL outlet to operate it will do serious damage to
the bilateral relationship

13. Finally, Bernard Bigras, Bloc Quebecois Environment
critic, explained that his party fears that a dangerous
precedent will be set if the Devils Lake matter is not
referred to the IJC - including an erosion of the utility
and effectiveness to the two governments of the IJC in the
future.

Dickson

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